


The First of The Last

by yuzukisuoh



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Blood and Violence, Later On lol, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2018-10-16 21:21:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10579716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuzukisuoh/pseuds/yuzukisuoh
Summary: Lu has became the notorious Noblesse and decides to expand her territory within Elrios. Ciel is tasked to conquer the Kingdom of Hamel in the south.Unbeknownst to him, Ain resides in Hamel at the moment.(RG x ATh) - Ciel x Ain





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> My first story after long hiatus.  
> And also for my love for Ciel x Ain in Els fandom. Basically I use each jobs in the first path.
> 
> Ciel - Royal Guard  
> Lu - Noblesse  
> Ain - Arme Thaumaturgy  
> Chung - Iron Paladin

Summary: Gaining tremendous power and reputation as the notorious Noblesse, Lu has become a notable demon queen and tries to expand her territories within Elrios. She asks her faithful servant Ciel to conquer the Kingdom of Hamel, but the Goddess apparently decides to get in his way.

## Erst der Letzt

## 

Phase I: Epilogue

Beneath the land of Elrios, there is a land of which all demons live. Like the humans, they live under guidance of a ruler. Unlike them, however, the demons rule by their value of power. Those who are strong have every right to command over weaker ones.

After her fall from reign several decades ago, Lu fled to the human realm, where she came across Ciel. Many things happened over their brief encounter. When an incident led Ciel close in losing his life, Lu asked him to make a contract with her in order for him to not die. He agreed, and became her servant and helped her to regain her throne.

Several years have passed since then.

With substantial help from Ciel, Lu has grown considerably stronger than ever. She can now control evil spirits with the astounding power of her lineage. With her immense power and strong presence in the battlefield, Lu eventually recovers her authority in the demon realm and gains legions of demon army serving under her.

However, due to her demonic side, Lu has begun to change. She begins craving after domains, wanting to be the most powerful demon ever. Thus she then begins to expand her territory on the human realm.

“Ciel,” Lu calls upon her servant. He gives her a polite acknowledgement. “Which do you think is the utmost influential monarchy in Elrios?”

“I believe Fluone Continent currently holds high military prowess within Elrios.” Ciel replies in a smooth tone. “…The City of Lanox, Tribe Village of Sander, and lastly, Kingdom of Hamel.”

Lu ponders about it for a moment. “Which one is the closest from here?”

“Sander.”

“Oho~ I see. Then it’s settled,” a smirk curves on her lips. “We shall launch our attack tomorrow. Prepare everything for it, Ciel.”

Ciel nods his head. “…As you wish.”

He then bows and takes his way out of the throne room. His heart pounding fast inside his chest, but Ciel doesn’t think much about it. He needs to get everything ready for tomorrow.

# # #

Ain remembers when he was merely a speck of light, unable to speak or being spoken to by other creatures. He remembers clearly when the Goddess Ishmael called his name, thus granting him his tangible form and powers, all in exchange of giving his assistance in restoring the El.

_“Ainchase. You are not to delve in too deep with their matter. Fulfill you mission as naturally as possible.”_

When he fulfills his mission, he will be forgotten by the humans.

It matters not. He has long grown in frustration and doubt about human beings. Several years ago, he had traveled across Elrios. He saw by himself, how those humans only care about their own needs in the end. They betray each other, waging conflict over trivial matters. All for the sake of glory and greed.

The more he uses his power from the Goddess, the more he lose his human side, something that he needs to understand and cooperate with the humans in Elrios. After witnessing what Wally has done, in addition to his disappointment in humans, Ain ultimately loses all hope in humanity and decides to take his own line.

Fighting vile demons that began conquering the land for years, Ain was led to the Capital of Hamel, where he met with the young heir Prince Seiker, also known as Chung.

“I have heard that you possess enormous power against demons. Would you lend your strength to aid us in defending this kingdom from them?”

Ain frowns upon hearing the proposal. “Why should I offer my assistance for the likes of you?”

“Our soldiers have their hands full of fighting with demons in the front lines. Your help in defending the citizen here would greatly aid us. As the Prince of Hamel, I ask this of you. …Please, help us.”

Chung looks at him with unwavering gaze. Strong determination and indomitable resolve clearly can be seen from his eyes. Nevertheless, Ain had lost his ability to feel any sentiment since a long time ago.

“I don’t care about you humans,” he says coldly. “Though all despicable demons are the same. I will slay them all, without exception.”

And with that, Ain turns away and leaves. He doesn’t see Chung bows deeply at his back.

“Thank you very much.” The young Hamelian Prince whispers.

True to his words, none of the demons able to invade Hamel that far without getting struck by dozens of spear made of light.

#

For months, it has been quite peaceful in Hamel, until one day, a messenger comes with urgent news.

“Sander has been attacked by the demons. The Tribe Chief asked us for reinforcement army in defending the village.”

“I understand. Sir Penensio, have your men prepared to take part in the reinforcement. Have some stationed here as last resort and guarding the gates,” Chung begins commanding his subordinates. “I will personally lead the reinforcement army.”

“What?” Penensio raises his head. “That is quite a risky move, Your Highness. Allow me to take charge of the army going to Sander.”

Chung gives him a smile. “There’s nothing to worry about. Hamel Knights are formidable opponents for the demons. They are more than capable of guarding the city in my absence.”

Being the leader of the Red Knights, Penensio can’t help but smile. “Thank you on putting so much trust in us, Your Highness.”

“Very well. It’s been decided then. We’ll depart tomorrow at dawn.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

#

That night, the soldiers begin their preparation in haste. Words fly fast across the city about the demon invasion in Sander. Eventually, the news reaches Ain.

“Do you not desire to aid?” the smooth, velvety voice whispers in his ear. Ain doesn’t need to glance to know who that is.

“Insignificant.”

“Oh?”

Glave, the whisperer whom Ain had known for his hobby on harassing him finally reveals himself from the shadow. “And why is that, little angel?”

Ain shoots him a glare instead of answering. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work on shooing the masked figure away.

“Are you really certain about this?” Glave taunts him again. “Have you truly forsaken them, those mangy little humans that you were so hopeful of?”

Loads of spears bolt out of thin air at Glave, piercing him deeply. He laughs, and his pierced figure slowly dissipate into nothingness. However, his apparent laughs echoing within the air.

When Glave’s presence seemingly vanished, cold fingers harshly tug on Ain’s jawbone to the side, forcing him to crane his neck to see Glave stands behind his back. A spear forms itself on Ain’s hand.

“Why you—…!”

“Calm down there, little angel.” Glave chides in a mocking manner. “You are quite hostile for a priest. It is regrettable that I have to paralyze yourself just to relish myself of your fine-looking form. Tell me, do all celestials possess beautiful face like yours?”

A spear launches itself at Glave, who easily steps aside to dodge. “My, my. Quite vicious, indeed.”

As Glave let him out of his hold, Ain regains his senses. He throws several daggers of light to Glave’s face, only for them to shatter before even touching the masked man.

“You’re an eyesore. I ought to eradicate you myself.” Ain growls, summoning a spear on his hand. But Glave merely chuckles.

“You can’t be so mean to your old friend like this. Remember, we have been together ever since you were in that place. Surely you still remember it well.”

The spear struck Glave in the chest, only for his figure to dissipate again into nothingness. Ain doesn’t let his guard down.

“This is getting boring. Any longer and I'm yawning here. See you later, little angel. Call me when you succumb into despair, ahahhahahhah~”

And with that, Glave presence also disappears. After making sure the masked man won’t come back soon, Ain dismisses his projectile weapons away. His hand moves to touch his jaw where Glave’s hand has been.

He grits his teeth, seething.

“…I ought to exterminate him.”

# # #

Meanwhile in Sander, the war has waged. Of course, the demons are on the winning side. Many of the Sander warriors have fallen. In the midst of the battlefield, a demon commander comes before Ciel.

“The humans are losing, but some of them managed to ask for help from outside force,” the demon says. “What should we do?”

“Let them do as they please. Proceed as planned.”

“Understood.”

The demon then goes away. Lu, who was nearby, hears their conversation and walks to Ciel.

“I heard all that. Are you really not going to do anything?”

“I will take care of the reinforcement myself.”

Lu nods.

“Well, now that Sander’s been taken care of, what about Lanox and Hamel?”

“Lanox is to the north, and Hamel is to the south. The reinforcement most likely comes from Hamel.”

“Oho~ you’re going to take care of the reinforcement army, aren’t you?” Lu tilts her head. “In that case, you should go for Hamel as well.”

Ciel blinks. “Then, what about you?”

“Huhu… of course I will go to Lanox,” Lu raises her blazing fist. “What? You don’t believe I will win the war?”

“No, of course not.” Ciel closes his eyes before opening them again. “As you wish. I will go to Hamel.”

“Bring some minions if you’d like. Once you’ve done in there, come to Lanox. I’ll make sure to reward you at out celebration.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Ciel bows, and then makes his way toward Hamel.

# # #


	2. Royal Guard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ciel tries to take care of the Hamel troops.
> 
> In the other side, Ain takes care of the demons roaming freely in Hamel.

## Erst der Letzt

## 

**Phase II: Royal Guard**

Sander is well-known in Fluone Continent as the City of Sand. Wind blows with such strong force, forming hurricanes across the desert. Dried dust flying in the air makes it hard to breathe properly. The unstable temperature also poses risk for those who aren’t adapted in such environment.

For the tribe people who have been accustomed to the desert, it is not a problem. However, for the Red Knights, it spells trouble. Chung hopes that the demons are also having the same disadvantage as them. Defending Sander will be difficult, but he will never give up.

“My Lord, the scouts have returned,” a messenger comes to Chung. “The demons have been gaining control over Sander main gate. A detached troop appears to be heading this way. What should we do?”

Chung rises on his feet, his hand pulling his trustful weapon with ease. Behind him, the Red Knights are prepared to fight and follow their king’s command.

One by one, demons begin emerging from mountain of dust that conceals their presence. With a cry, Chung leads his army to fight the demons.

# # #

Meanwhile, whirlwind and sandstorm starts to shape across the Sander desert. The demons have taken control of the main gate, and are guarding the place from outsider.

Atop the main gate, Ciel stands by himself. The contract between him and Lu pulsates roughly in, and he unconsciously put his hand on it. Images from when they invaded Sander flicker inside his mind. It bothers him, to be honest, but he doesn’t know what to think about it.

Before he can contemplate further about them, a demon comes to him. “The lure has been taken. It is just as you said, the Red Knights from Hamel is coming.”

Ciel nods in acknowledgement.

“Then it is our time to move. Leave several troops here, and get the rest. Commence the assault at once.”

“With pleasure~” the demon smirks in delight, and then takes his way outside to inform the other demons.

Without a second thought, Ciel jumps down from the top of the gate to desert below. Desert winds stack the dust into the air, creating small sandstorms in its wake. It’s hard to see anything behind the veil of thick dust, but it poses no problem for the demon butler.

As the hordes of demon begin their assault, Ciel takes a different route. He takes out his cross-shaped rifle from his back, attempting to snipe the Red Knights. Using his skill as a former mercenary assassin, Ciel manages to kill several knights at once.

Until fired blast from hidden cannon demolish heap of rocks behind him.

A figure emerges from behind the raging storm of dust. Clad in white armor and with the legendary Destroyer he carries, Ciel knows whom exactly he is currently facing.

_“Why did you attack Sander?”_ Chung asks. His _freiturnier_ armor causes his voice to sound deeper and louder than normal.

Ciel frowns. “You are not of Sander. There is no need for you to fret about this village.”

_“Sanderian or not, they are humans like us Hamelian as well,”_ Chung activates his Destroyer, ready to strike. _“I will not let you continue to wreak havoc in this land any longer.”_

“There is no war without casualties.”

_“But you didn’t have to_ kill _them!”_

Silence befalls them for a few seconds, until Ciel finally opens his mouth.

“It was an order from my master. …I have no right to defy her.”

Chung reloads his weapon after he heard the answer. Ciel takes it as a declaration of duel between them.

_“It seems my thoughts cannot reach you,”_ the young leader of the Red Knights laments. _“Raise your weapon, demon. Words pale before the demonstration of what I speak of.”_

Ciel does it, wordlessly.

#

Dueling against Chung turns out to be more strenuous than what Ciel expected. The Iron Paladin has long shed his freiturnier, but to Ciel it was like he has inane amount of stamina to fight.

Both fighters battle with vicious power. Barrage of bullets and explosions fills up giant half of their battle. Since both of them specialize in range-type attacks, their skills are equally tied.

The sun has burned atop of their heads since hours ago. All the other demons and the knights have long since fallen. Desert sandstorms and whirlwinds further decreasing their aptitude for fighting.

In the deserted battlefield, both of them are the last ones standing.

Ciel can feel his own endurance has begun to drop steadily. He will not last if the duel drags on. He has to flee, but because his opponent is Chung, it is something near impossible to pull. Using the thick layer of sand to hide his presence, Ciel raises his weapon, aiming it at the unaware Iron Paladin.

He’ll have to stake everything on his last bullet.

# # #

After Chung had left Hamel three days ago, Penensio takes charge of the remaining knights to guard Hamel. Stray demons that come attacking begin to increase in number. Several knights patrol around the capital city more often than before.

In the deepest part of Halls of Water, Ain can feel the uneasiness of every citizen in Hamel hanging in the atmosphere. Being a celestial, he can sense whenever a demon invades the capital city. It stirs something akin to itchiness on his skin, which irks him greatly.

Deciding that the demons are starting to annoy him by every ticking second, Ain sets his way out from the empty place. His mission may to restore the El, but any demon dares to roam Elrios will sully the Goddess’ land. He will obliterate every demon pitiful enough to come across his path.

When he reaches the front area of the Hall, Ain sees two knights are busy fighting some flying demons. The very sight of those vile creatures irritates him, and the knights are terrible at their job. His pendulum shatters into specks of light as he prepares himself for combat.

Mustering his mana, Ain raises his arm, beckoning several enchanted circle to form—of which projectile daggers manifest in a large number—and fires them toward the demons. They discharge with full force, easily killing each one of the winged demons.

The knights who have just witnessed it can’t help but to gawk at the stranger clad in white with shock and awe. They don’t expect someone to come out from the Halls of Water and defeat so many demons effortlessly.

“I… uh, I mean, t-thank you,” one of them stutters out. “…for helping us in dealing with the demons just now.”

“Yeah, we’re so grateful for your help,” the other knight adds. “Anyway, it’s dangerous right around here. You should go to a safe place before more demons—“

Ain throws a nasty glare to him, cutting the rest of his words off.

“I will exterminate _each_ and _every_ one of them myself. You humans are unreliable enough as it is.” His cold tone stunned the knights into silence. “Don’t get in _my_ way.”

Without waiting for an answer, Ain turns around and walks off.

The more he strides outside, Ain can clearly feel demon presences everywhere. His skin itches even more than it already has. Whenever Ain catches sight of demons, he immediately goes after them.

After so many slaughters of demons later, a pair of armored demons then appears in front of him. Another one with a huge shield shows up before long.

The demons mumble out incomprehensible words when they laid their eyes on him, which to Ain sounds like gibberish banter. He doesn’t waste time to manifest a giant  
projectile spear in his hand and aiming it to the demons.

_“Brocken…”_ he holds the spear for two seconds, charging its power. _“—Phantasm!”_

Ain throws the spear at them with full force. The projectile weapon shoots through the air like a flash, detonating itself when it pierces the demons. However, their defense capabilities prove true when Ain watches as they stand back on their feet.

He notices other knights running around fighting stray demons in the distance, but pays them no mind. Summoning a projected sword, Ain slashes through the demons, and then finishes it by firing multiple daggers at their faces.

But he doesn’t expect for the shield carrier to rush forward, violently drives its shield at him. Ain flinches at the sudden attack, but quickly recovers and thrusts his sword toward the demon. He slashes it some more before stabbing his sword and shattering it. The demon cries and tumbles backward, losing its life.

As Ain tries to regain back his lost mana, a powerful demon presence assaults his senses without warning.

“This considerable amount of demonic power…” he mutters out while attempting to locate the source, “…it must be their leader.”

Hastily, Ain sprints his way to follow trails of the unknown demonic aura. It leads him to a cavern. A knight who guards the place notices his arrival and walks forward to stop Ain.

“Hark! This Magmanta’s Cave is deemed to be not safe to visit. Go back, please.”

Ain glowers at him. “Step aside. I have no time to waste on you.”

“I’m sorry, but you had better go before something awful happens.”

Losing his patience, Ain uses his power to warp behind the guard and far into the cave. Of course, the guard doesn’t notice this and thinks that Ain suddenly vanishes without trace.

# # #

Ciel stumbles his way inside the cave. It has been a day since he fought Chung in the desert, and now he needs to recovers a huge chunk of his power that he had used in that duel. He has regained some power and used it to summons many demons across Hamel in order to distract the knights.

Most of his powers have been recovered, but the duel against Chung doesn’t let him left the battlefield unscathed. Ciel will have to repair the damage done to his weapon soon, along with his tattered coat. It was a miracle that he somehow escaped.

A weird sensation tickles his senses and Ciel instantly on guard. It doesn’t feel like another demon’s, but isn’t entirely a human’s either.

Something bright comes his way in full speed. Ciel steps aside in time to avoid a spear from lodging itself in his head.

A figure clad in white robe and golden linings shows up. “So it was you, the root of all evils and the cause of those wretched demons trying to invade Hamel.”

The dim light of the place makes it hard for Ciel to clearly see this man. But he notices his light-blue colored hair and eyes. For a male, he has a rather stunning appearance, almost ethereal.

But his cold tone makes Ciel wonder if the person standing in front of him is human at all.

“Your statement proves true,” he replies in a smooth voice. “I will not deny it.”

“You reek of demon, yet at the same time, is also human,” the man in white speaks. “Two things I most _despise_ in this world.”

A projected sword manifests itself in the stranger’s hand. Ciel takes a deep breath and slowly readies his cross-shaped rifle for combat. He has a feeling that he’s going to die.

“Let the battle begins.”

# # #


	3. Chapter 3

Phase III: Hourglass

Chung glances up to a crack on the cave ceiling. From the blurry view, he can see the raging sandstorm outside. Lack of geographical information proves to be a problem. Chung and the Red Knights have got themselves trapped into a crater underground of Sander and couldn’t get out.

“My Lord,” a knight calls out and bows his head when Chung turns to face him. “There is no casualty among the knights. Only few have gotten injured, but still far from severe. We will move at your command.”

Chung nods. “Good. Thank you very much. You’ve all been working hard, so please take a break for now.”

“But My Lord, surely there must be something we can do for you in the meantime…?”

“I have checked every corner of this place and found some paths. We also have no idea where they will lead us. However, even if we do get out right now, the sandstorm would only be a hindrance. The demons can’t do much in such heavy weather, so at least we still have time to prepare ourselves.”

The knight stays silent as he listens to Chung’s explanation. Their leader isn’t just brawn, after all. “I see…”

“That’s why I need you to rest for now. Recover your strength, for we may come across dangerous foes ahead.”

Although working for the Prince of Hamel, the Red Knights are actually part of Velder Kingdom across the sea. Years ago, Hamel and Velder have reached peace between them, and the Red Knights thus stationed in Hamel as part of the treaty.

At first, they were wary of the young leader of Hamel. He was said to be weak, easily fell ill, not to mention looks too young and… girly? There was a time where the Knights secretly questioned Chung’s gender between themselves, amongst other things. Penensio would smack them across the head whenever he found out even an ounce of that.

Though as they passed various battles with Chung as the leader and came back alive successfully, the Knights promptly stopped doubting his skill as leader and tactician. And in these past recent years, he had grown not only as a king, but also a fine commander.

“According to our map, this crater is located near by the village which has taken by demons. Depending on the circumstances, we may have to flank them first.”

“Understood.” The knight agrees. “…Um, excuse me for asking, but how about Hamel? Majority of the Knights have followed you here. I’m afraid that those demons would attack Hamel next.”

“Yes. I understand your worry,” Chung smiles. “But Sir Penensio is there to guard the kingdom in my absence. His strength is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

And given that a certain angry priest who lived there pretty much loathes any demon in general, he wouldn’t just sit down and watch.

# # #

Going against the unknown man proves to be a difficult battle for Ciel. For most of the fight, he goes on defensive, unable to freely attack. The man in white—Ain—attacks mostly in close range, and Ciel needs to put some safe distance for his long-range attack to work.

Ain raises his blade and slams it down to him. Ciel shields himself with his rifle in time. This close, he can clearly see Ain’s striking light blue colored eyes glares at him. They’re as beautiful as expensive jewels he often sees in town.

A shame that the man hates his guts at the moment.

Ciel feels his powers slowly slipping away. Without Lu nearby, their power divided into half. It is a surprise even to him for surviving this long.

“Stop…!” he hisses out aloud enough for them to hear.

But Ain doesn’t lessen his sword. His voice as cold as his gaze. “…Silence!”

They stay in deadlock for a few seconds, which to Ciel feels like hours. A sweat rolls down his face. Lu has tasked him here believing that he will succeed. He wouldn’t be able to face his master after being defeated so easily.

Ain summons a dozen of daggers to rain down upon Ciel. Each graze burns his skin and pushes him backwards. He stumbles onto the ground shortly. A sword embeds itself on the solid cave floor dangerously close to his face. Ciel’s breath stuck in his throat when a projected blade is held just inches against his temple.

The ground shakes beneath them as an explosion is heard. The sudden movement causes Ain to lose his balance and Ciel uses this chance to knock him down. Their position change with Ciel straddles Ain, pointing the sharp tip of his gun blade on the priest’s neck.

“How did you find me?”

Years of experience in his former job have trained his stealth skill, and now with Lu’s power, he improved greatly. Ciel has made sure that nobody noticed him when he went near the Hamel gate, let alone entering it, yet this man finds him out in an instant.

But Ain does not budge easily. “I have no obligation to answer.”

“You’re not a mere human, are you?”

“That is none of your concern.”

Another explosion occurs and spiders begin to appear. Crawling all over the wall and cave ceiling, they identify both Ciel and Ain as intruders and attack with silk threads. A giant white spider howling in the background, crushing anything in its way as it spits poison in the air.

Smaller spiders scattering all over the place prove to be a challenge in number. Their sticky threads catch on to Ciel’s arm, decreasing his movement and make it hard to switch between his guns properly.

Not too far away from him, Ain is busy taking care of the giant spider who has taken interest in assaulting him. The spider spits out poison threads everywhere he goes. Ain’s escape path cut short by the minutes, and he finds himself slowly backed into a corner. Furious roar echoes in the cave and the spider launches itself up the cave ceiling, attempting to drop down onto him.

Before he got time to react, silk threads from lesser spiders comes in barrages and pushes him to the wall. They catch both his wrists and locked them in place. Unable to move, Ain braces himself when the spider starts to drop itself.

Ciel swapped his gunblades with the cross-rifle on his back, releasing heavy firearms toward the giant spider. The torrents shove it away to avoid falling straight onto the priest, but the damage is not enough to kill.

The giant spider screeches aloud, calling every lesser spider to come closer. It let out some gurgling sounds before jumping away into the depth of the cave, disappearing behind the darkness.

Ciel waits for a moment until he is sure that the spider won’t pull another strike. When there is no sign of it coming back any time sooner, he let out a sigh and relaxes himself. 

His eyes then trail around to find the priest is. Fortunately, he still appears to be stuck in sticky threads to be able to do any harm.

Now what to do…

//

Ain frowns when he sees the half-demon stares at him in silence.

“What?”

Ciel does not reply. He moves closer, until he stands exactly right in front of the priest.

For a minute, they stare at each other in silence, stopping only when Ciel sighs in defeat.

“This may be not the best course of action for you, but if you promise not to attack me after I let you go—“

“What makes you think I’d follow?”

“…Right. Then I’ll just leave you as is.”

“Humph.”

There is no fear or hesitation in those eyes, Ciel notices. Nothing but pure anger, an honest resentment for demon. Completely… unlike any human he’d encountered so far. He can’t help but be drawn to them.

His fingers rise to hold the priest’s chin, lifting it upward to face him. “Tell me, who are you, exactly?”

“That is none of your concern.”

“Your appearance looks human, but I feel no presence of humanity… in front of me.”

“…”

Ciel sighs again. “You’re so stubborn. Fine. Why do you hate me so much? Have I done something to offend you?”

“Are you a fool? The answer should be obvious by now—you are part demon.”

“So you know _what_ I am?” Ciel smirks as he takes a step back. “I noticed, you see, how your movements were aimed at me—your purpose is precisely to _kill_ —but something holds you back. Is it because I am part human that you can’t make yourself to kill me?”

The priest does not answer. He must have hit a mark.

Wordlessly, Ciel uses his gunblade to cut the threads that tied the priest’s wrists. He doesn’t flinch even when a projection dagger materialized near his neck. It dissipates as fast as it comes.

“I may be unable to kill you this time,” Ain said. “But know that I will always have my eyes on you from now on.”

The sudden declaration takes Ciel by surprise. “Your eyes… on _me_?”

“I meant what I said.”

Seeing the deadpanned look and the flat response makes Ciel almost smile. The priest doesn’t look like he’s quite a people-person.

“Okay, then. Shall we go now?”

“…”

As expected, the priest replies with a glare before turning on his back to leave.

Ciel knits his brows in distaste. This man will be a primary obstacle to his plan in taking down Hamel. He needs to take him out soon, but first he’d have to find out more about him, particularly his weakness.

//

Upon reaching the cave’s entrance, they find themselves facing a knight who guards the place.

“Y-You…!” he gestures toward Ain. “Didn’t I tell you not to come into the cave?”

“Shut up.”

Seeing that the guard withers almost immediately against the priest’s scowl, Ciel decides to interfere. “I’m sorry. He was just coming to get me. Please forgive us for trespassing.”

“Ahem, I see. Don’t do reckless things like this again. Now off with you two.”

“Yes. Thank you very much.”

When they’re finally out of earshot of the guard, Ain speaks first. “You’re quite a liar.”

Ciel smiles. “Do forgive me. Desperate times calls for desperate measures. I had merely hoped not to attract too much attention.”

“…”

Both men continue their walk in silence. Ciel takes his time enjoying the scenery of Hamel, from the stone paths and bright buildings dominated in color white. The crowds there are also fairly lively, despite threats of demon.

He watches some patrolling knights who help out their citizen, no matter how trivial the problem is. The knights honor their code of chivalry and the citizens fully trust their governor. Such is a symbol of peace. The ruler of Hamel must’ve been a great individual… or a lenient, gullible kind of person.

Time passes between them as the sun begins to set, and Ciel starts to wonder about their destination. He fakes a cough. Despite the priest doesn’t give any indication if he hears him or not, Ciel knows he does.

“Excuse me, but… where exactly are we going?”

“Nowhere.”

“Huh?”

“My purpose is to keep an eye on you. As long as you’re by my side, nothing else matters.”

Ciel runs his fingers through his hair, trying not to think too much about the other implication the priest had just blurted out. He takes his words a little too literally, he probably doesn’t even know about it.

“I understand that you’re just doing your job, however please give some thoughts for me as well.”

“What do you mean?”

“Even though I am a demon, I am still part human, too. I was hoping that we could find ourselves a nice place to have a dinner.”

It was a lie, of course, but the priest doesn’t need to know.

Ain furrows his brows. “…You humans are so bothersome.”

“Yes, obviously. Let’s go over there, shall we?”

Ciel gestures to a small but a rather nice restaurant, and Ain decides to follow him. Not many customers are around, so most of the seats are vacant. Ciel picks a table on the side terrace. The outdoor spot allows him to see Hamel more clearly.

A maid comes to take their orders, visibly embarrassed for having to serve two good-looking males. Ain settles on whatever Ciel has ordered—a simple dish of Grilled Fish and Herbal Tea.

“I believe I haven’t properly introduced myself,” Ciel’s voice takes Ain’s attention from fumbling with his food. “My name is Ciel.”

“I don’t share my name to demons.”

“Then what should I call you? At the very least, give me something I could use to refer to you.”

“…I am _Arme Thaumaturgy_ , servant of the Goddess,” Ain replies after pondering for a moment. “And I shall be known as such.”

“Okay. I’ll go with Arme, then. Nice to meet you, Arme.”

Ain glares at the half-demon for his ridiculous attempt in shortening his title, but says nothing.

# # #

Sitting alone on her throne, Lu puts her chin on her hand, deep in thought. The heavy sandstorm forces her to delay her movement to Lanox. She tried to call on Ciel to carry on with his duty for hours, but until now, their communication link somehow is off. Lu is understandably upset.

A knock on her door takes her attention. “Come in.”

“Pardon my intrusion, Lord Luciela,” a male demon bows to her. “I have a report from the scouts.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“There is an El Shard in Sander. We assumed that the El Priestess currently used it to muster this heavy sandstorm in order to trap us inside.”

“Humph, it should be expected. So where is she now?”

“I’m sorry, but we’re unable to search thoroughly in this storm.”

Lu closes her eyes for a moment before opening them again. “If they had meant to seal us inside, they must be nearby. No sealing incantation could cover wide area without having a central point. Do you see what I mean, boy?”

“So… she could be trapped here as well?”

“Precisely. Now go find some places where she might be hiding—caves, craters, temples, anything.”

“Yes, Lord Luciela.”

Without further ado, the demon saunters away. As Lu watches him go, she thinks about going out herself instead of sitting around in bore. A smile curves on her lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the (awfully) late update. Now that have a week off college, I hope I could write more.  
> Did I mention this is a slow-burn-kind of story? Basically Ciel and Ain still hates each other's guts, but they will improve... in due time.  
> This story also was written before the announcement of 3rd jobs, so...


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